But instead of bringing Brent closer in line with U.S. crude, the opposite has happened, roiling both futures trading and key physical grades.On Thursday, U.S. crude futures traded as much as $11 below Brent , the deepest discount since early 2015. "The market doesn’t know where the price of oil is going to be and probably doesn’t know where it should be, and so it’s open to some major price fluctuations," said Richard Hastings, an independent analyst in Charlotte, North Carolina.U.S. Independent Chinese refineries, known as teapots, have even started reselling cargoes of West African crude to buy cheaper Brazilian or U.S. oil, according to traders.U.S. crude futures are being pulled down, in part, by the oil glut in the Permian shale basin, which currently produces more than 3 million barrels a day - nearly one-third of U.S. crude production, which hit a new record of 10.5 million bpd, according to U.S. Energy Department data released on Thursday. That translates to a $23 to $25 discount to Brent.But coastal U.S. grades are trading at multi-year highs, illustrating the demand globally for U.S. barrels.

Source: The Star May 31, 2018 23:15 UTC